Two able, professional paymasters operated the Office of Provisions and
Clothing, the bureau responsible for paying, clothing, and feeding the navy:
John De Bree and James A. Semple. As paymasters they were responsible for
paying, requisitioning, storing, issuing, maintaining, and accounting for food,
clothing, small stores, and other items a sailor might need for personal use.
Under their control the navy never wanted for food and, most of the time, had
adequate clothing. Their only failure, if indeed it was their fault, was that
they could never provide adequate pay.

John De Bree, Chief of Bureau from 1861 to April 1864, had forty-four years
service as a U.S. Navy paymaster. James A. Semple, Chief of Bureau from April
1864 until the end of the war, had eleven years service in the "old navy." These
two men, in the face of overwhelming adversity from the blockading U.S. Navy,
the invading U.S. Army and the ever competitive C.S. Army, provided clothing to
each squadron, ship, sailor, and, after January 1865, each officer of the navy.
It is just short of miraculous that they functioned as well as they did.

The Savannah Squadron had eight paymasters from 1861 to 1864. The chief
station paymaster, C. Lucian Jones, Assistant Paymaster, C.S.N., served from
1861 to 1863. Jones was responsible for all provisions, stores, pay, and records
at the Savannah station. Charles W. Keim, assistant paymaster, replaced Jones in
1863. Dewitt C. Seymour, Assistant Paymaster, was the squadron purser from 1862
to December 1864. All other squadron paymasters were under his direction.

The task of clothing and feeding the new navy was daunting. The need to
maintain the navy's personnel grew as quickly as the navy grew. Initially
congress authorized the C.S. Navy only 500 men. The Bureau clothed these men by
using existing stores captured at Norfolk and Pensacola in 1861. By late 1861
congress authorized the navy to increase its strength to 3000 men and the need
to find other sources of supply was increasingly paramount. Stephen R. Mallory,
Secretary of the Navy, sent naval purchasing agents throughout Europe to acquire
the necessary supplies. James D. Bullock, Commander, C.S.N., was the chief
procurement officer in Europe. Under his guidance the navy never wanted for
adequate equipment and clothing; however, supplying the necessary clothing to
vessels of the Savannah Squadron was a different matter.

The Navy Department instructed Bulloch, in May 1861, to purchase, without
insignia, "cloth or cassinette pants, shoes, cloth jumpers, woolen socks, cloth
round jackets, blankets, duck pants, blue cloth caps, blue flannel overshirts,
pea jackets, blue flannel undershirts, barnsley sheeting frocks, blue flannel
underdrawers, and black silk neckerchiefs." Some of these items made it through
the blockade, several did not. Apparently much British uniform material reached
the Confederacy. Supplies reaching Savannah, Georgia, on the Fingal were issued
to Savannah Squadron crews. Evidence of this is the issue of "blue pea jackets,"
"English clothing," and "blue satinette trousers." The "Gray Navy" that
Secretary Mallory and Commander John M. Brooke envisioned was slow to come about
because the army utilized most of the gray cloth and the Department continued to
issue blue clothing captured at Norfolk.

By late 1862 gray began to seep into the enlisted ranks. The cost of
importing the traditional "navy blue" was prohibitive. One English visitor
remarked that "the cultivation of indigo to make blue dye is now entirely
discontinued . . .they were not able to make the naval uniform of the
Confederacy blue as everyone knows a naval uniform ought to be. It is now the
same color as the military uniform."

Clothing Issue

The riverine sailor may not have been as well dressed as his "deep water"
counterparts, but he was much better off than his army comrades. The paymaster
issued uniforms to sailors upon induction and promised them a substantial
clothing allowance to maintain their kit, but the pressing need for funds
elsewhere in the Confederacy deprived the enlisted men of their much needed
allowance. Robert Watson, wrote in his diary that "we are not allowed any
clothing money but have to pay for everything we draw out of our wages."
Deficiencies resulted in the issue of new clothing to the sailor and the cost
was deducted from his pay account. Clothing prices could range from as high as
fifteen dollars to as little as ninety-five cents. A landsman's (raw recruit)
pay was $16.00 a month. The cost of the initial uniform was $100.12. It would
take a new sailor, barring any other expenses and devoting his entire pay to the
task, a little over six months to pay for his uniform. After deducting the
clothing issue from their pay and forwarding any allotments to their families,
many sailors were without money and would probably not see any for the entire
war.

What they were supposed to look like

Regulations established in 1862 for the enlisted personnel of the
Confederate States Navy were the same regulations adopted by the U.S. navy in
1859, except that the Confederates replaced all references to blue with steel
gray and changed the U. S. Navy's rating badge, the eagle and anchor surmounted
by a five pointed star, to a fouled anchor.

The regulations described clothing for petty officers, firemen, coal-heavers,
seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys at muster as steel gray cloth
jackets (round jackets) and trousers, or steel gray wool frocks (jumpers) with
white duck collars and cuffs, black hats, black silk neckerchiefs and shoes, or
boots in cold weather. In warm weather, the uniform was to consist of white
jumpers - collars and cuffs to be lined with blue cloth - white trousers, black
or white hats as the commander may direct, black silk neckerchiefs, and black
shoes. Thick gray hats without visors could be worn at sea when not at muster.

The
gray jacket, known as the round jacket or monkey jacket, was a waist length,
eighteen button, shell jacket with a rolling collar. There were usually three
buttons on the cuff. Button styles and types varied. The blue jacket worn by Lt.
Robert D. Minor of the C.S.S. Virginia had U.S. artillery buttons. The blue
jacket worn by C. Lucien Jones, paymaster, had Confederate naval buttons. Both
of these jackets were officer's clothing and reflect superior workmanship an
officer could afford. Enlisted men were not expected to maintain their uniforms
to the standards of the officers and the color and button styles could vary
radically.

The
frock, or jumper, resembled the modern naval jumper with a few minor exceptions.
Shoulder seams dropped off the shoulder, giving a more bloused appearance. The
yoke - the joining of the upper part of the jumper to the lower - was of no set
pattern or non-existent. The collar varied in length but was usually less than
six and a half inches. Contemporary drawings and photographs showing jumpers are
extremely rare. One drawing of a prisoner at Fort Norfolk in 1864 shows the
seaman wearing a jumper with a five-button neck closure and two-button cuffs.
The body is very full and the sleeves appear tapered to fit the arm. The collar
is unlined and appears to be of the same material as the rest of the jumper.

The
trousers of the enlisted sailor varied in pattern as much as the other articles
of clothing. Clothing records indicate that the squadron issued blue trousers
throughout the war. Gray trousers did not become an item for issue until 1863.
The Confederate government issued trousers in three different patterns: fall
front, seam pocket, and mule ear. Government records did not distinguish which
type of trouser was issued. Fall front trousers were the "traditional" sailor
pants with a seven to thirteen button, bib front closure. The legs and seat were
full to allow free movement and the leg cuffs were open so that the pants could
be rolled to the knee. Located on the waist band seam was a drawstring for size
adjustment. There are no existing records, photographs, or drawings indicating
Confederate sailors wore this type of trousers. It is unclear if this type of
trouser was part of the captured stores from Norfolk. Clothing manifests do not
identify the trouser type. Seam pocket trousers appear to be the most common
trouser type. These trousers are characterized by a four button fly and seam
pockets. The trouser cuff covers the top of the shoe and the waist had the same
style drawstring adjustment as fall front trousers. Existing photographs of
Confederate seamen show this style of trousers.

Mule ear pocket trousers resemble the button fly trousers in every way except
that the pockets, closed with a button, are sewn into the front of the trouser
leg, much like modern blue jeans pockets. Land forces favored this type of
trouser and they were a very common issue. The navy may have issued these
trousers as well. Of the three types of trousers issued, most photographs show
the seam pocket style of trouser. The drawing of a prisoner at Fort Norfolk is
interesting because it illustrates a pair of trousers with no fly and apparently
closed by a draw string. There is an existing federal navy uniform in the
Smithsonian Institute's Museum of American History of a similar pattern. The
Smithsonian trousers were made of white cotton duck and closed with a
drawstring; much like modern sweat pants.

The
round hat, or pork pie, a blue or gray cloth cap, was the common hat style for
the mid-nineteenth century sailor. Regulations called for sennet hats - white or
japanned black, straw hats - for dress wear; however, there are no records of
sennet hat issue. There is one example of a seaman's cloth hat at the Columbus
Confederate Naval Museum. The hat is constructed of heavy, dark gray
wool. It has no visor and is lined with muslin. The hat band is adjusted in the
back using a draw string. The Herrington plate of the Confederate sailor
prisoner of war shows a hat of similar design. The Herrington hat also has a
ribbon, with the word Merrimac painted or embroidered, tied around the hat band
with a bow. This illustration is unusual in that most contemporary photographs
of Union and Confederate sailors do not show a painted hat ribbon. Instead, the
hat ribbon was left plain. Dress hats (sennet hats) normally carried the painted
ribbon bearing the ship's name. The cloth hat, considered a work or fatigue hat,
had traditionally been left plain. Federal forces adopted the round hat as the
dress hat later in the war and the practice may have spread to the South. A
photograph of William Gilmore, pilot of the C.S.S. Arkansas, shows him
wearing a military style forage cap with a naval device attached. It is possible
that caps issued from 1862 to 1864 were of the army pattern. An indication of
military cap may be identified by the word "cap." The naval and army issue
shirts were identical and came in an assortment of patterns that changed
minimally over the war years.

The shirt, as issued from 1861 to 1865 was an off white, or cream, color
flannel with reinforced shoulders and slit head opening. The shirt had a square
collar closed with a metal button, tapered sleeves, closed with a single button,
and a full cut body. Confederates issued this type of shirt, in wool and cotton,
throughout the war. Confederate sailors supplemented their shirt issue with
civilian clothing from home adding various color and style differences. In a
study by Dr. Edward S. Franzosa of eight existing Confederate military shirts,
three were white, three were brown, one purple, and one blue. One shirt had no
collar, four had turn down collars, and 3 had stand up (square) collars. Five
shirts had no pockets, one had one pocket, and two had two pockets. Button holes
on the head opening slit were either three or four, with one shirt having no
button holes. Four shirts had glass buttons, one had mother of pearl, one bone,
and one metal. Only one shirt had ruffs, possibly indicating an officers shirt.
Shoes were the hardest items to acquire. Sailors who climbed rigging and worked
sails could go barefoot; however, standing watch on ironclads and steam ships
required shoes. Non-insulated decks adjacent to the fire and engine rooms became
very hot and in winter a thin layer of ice covered the iron armor and upper
decks.

Shoes were the most serious problem for sailors. The Navy Department set up a
shoe factory in Graniteville, South Carolina, but the army seized the factory
when the War Department thought that the army's needs far outweighed the navy's.
Naval agents had to scramble to fill their shoe orders and, as a result, most
shoes purchased by the navy came from England. The Office of Provisions and
Clothing sent each squadron a pattern for canvas shoes and asked them to try to
get them produced locally. Shoes, however, remained a problem throughout the war
and the navy continued to import most from abroad. The C.S. Navy apparently
never solved the "shoe problem." In November 1864, the men of the James River
Squadron stood watch on freezing decks without shoes, coats, or blankets. What
they really looked like.

Early clothing issues to Savannah sailors were almost entirely blue in color.
The uniform consisted of a blue cloth hat, blue jumper, blue trousers, blue
shirt, blue round jacket, a black silk neckerchief, and shoes. Issues of gray
overshirts occurred regularly in 1861, and by 1863, the Department issued gray
cloth, gray jackets and gray trousers to most squadrons. Paymaster John De Bree
set up clothing manufacturing centers in Richmond, Savannah, and Mobile using
mainly domestic materials. Despite the zeal of De Bree and paymaster Semple, the
Confederate sailor looked more like a merchant seaman than a naval sailor. The
few surviving photographs of Confederate sailors indicate a varied uniform
consisting of many different colored shirts, blue, white, or gray trousers,
black silk neckerchief and a gray or blue round hat.

Frederick Todd shows a photograph of possible Confederate seamen in
white shirts and trousers. The only indication they may be Confederate sailors
is the fact that they are wearing neckerchiefs and reversed U.S. Navy belt
buckles. There were times when the Confederate sailor looked the part. The
uniform of Matthew Pielert, captain-of-the-hold of the C.S.S. Torpedo, shows
what appears to be a totally gray uniform including round jacket, round hat,
shirt, and trousers (Figure 3-8). The date of the photograph is unknown but gray
cloth availability and issue dates (middle to late 1864) suggests 1864 as most
probable. Pielert's photograph, although from the James River Squadron, is a
good example of the Confederate enlisted naval uniform and illustrates that the
navy was at least trying to meet the uniform regulations.

After reporting on board the C.S.S. Savannah Watson drew a hammock,
clothes bag, two flannel shirts, one pair of pants, one cap, and one mattress
from the paymaster. A month later he drew a pair of shoes from the naval store.
Dissatisfied with his cap, he "made [himself] a cap during the day." Whether the
cap issued to Watson was naval or not is questionable. The style of cap might
have prompted Watson to replace it with a more naval looking hat. Watson also
wrote that, while on parole in New York after the war, the provost marshal
ordered him out of his "Confederate uniform" by the next day or he would be
subject to arrest.

It is apparent that the Confederate enlisted naval uniform was easily
identified by the northern populace. What type of uniform was Watson wearing in
New York? His last clothing issue was at Wilmington, N.C., in March 1865. He
drew one pair of pants, two pair cotton drawers, and two cotton shirts. The
cotton drawers he promptly sold in Wilmington for food. Clothing records for the
C.S.S. Georgia in 1863, show issues totaling ninety-nine white jumpers
and ninety-three grey trousers. Supplementing this were 45 blue trousers, (6 Oct
1863), and 17 blue jumpers, (1 July 1863). Records also show as late as 1864,
blue and white uniforms were common on the river squadrons. On 20 January 1864,
six blue wool caps, twenty-four pair of blue wool trousers, and 12 dozen flannel
shirts were issued to the men on the C.S.S. ram Savannah. Seven days
later, seamen stationed at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, were issued "gray pea
jackets." This in itself would not be remarkable except that 16 days later the
paymasters at Savannah issued the entire squadron eighty pea-jackets along with
three-hundred pair of English shoes and gray flannel shirts. Thomas Conolly's
diary recorded sailors of the C.S.S. Virginia II as "men all standing
round at attention & all neatly clad in confed:[sic] grey shirts." Although
these men were in the James River Squadron, clothing issues appear to be the
same as the Savannah Squadron.

Officers in Savannah noted the uniformity and demeanor of sailors from the
Chattahoochee, dressed in gray cassenette, when they arrived in Savannah
to join the Savannah Squadron in 1864. Routine issues of gray shirts continued
in Savannah from 1863 until the evacuation of the city in December 1864. James
H. Tomb, of the Torpedo Bureau, recorded that, in 1865, seamen laying torpedoes
at Shell Bluff below Augusta found two soldiers sleeping by a fire. The soldiers
"surrendered" because "when they saw our men, who had on blue uniforms - clothes
taken from the Water Witch - they thought we were Yanks, and said they
were tired of war and going home."

The Confederate sailor began the war wearing Federal blue because that was
all that was available, and by the end of the war, he was again in blue. The
height of the gray period in Savannah was 1863 and returned to blue in late
1864. As the blockade tightened the navy depended on existing stores of cloth
that the army did not need (blue) and the few expensive imports from England.

Rank

Two basic branches existed for seamen; those who could assume command (line)
and those who could not (staff). The regulations called for "boatswain's mates,
gunner's mates, carpenter's mates, sailmaker's mates, ship's stewards and ship's
cooks to wear a black silk-embroidered fouled anchor on their right sleeve above
the elbow in front." All other petty officers were to wear the same device on
their left sleeves. It is unknown how many sailors, if any, actually wore this
device. There are neither existing issue records nor photographs of Confederate
sailors wearing any type of device to denote rank.

Although Pielert was rated a petty officer, his photograph does not show any
rank indication. The lack of rating devices in the naval service may be due to a
rapid personnel turnover normal for a fledgling navy or the small number of men
assigned to Confederate vessels. All sailors enlisted as either seamen, ordinary
seamen, or landsmen. Civilian experience and the amount of time in service
affected a sailor's rating. Sailors with previous experience advanced faster in
grade. Advancement to a petty officer rate came from the ship's captain and was
non-transferrable.

Seniority dictated a sailor's relative rank aboard a vessel. For example:
seaman Jones, with two years prior experience in the navy or merchant service,
shipped aboard the Savannah in May 1863. As the 100th sailor to ship, he
would receive the number 100. His relative rank was his muster roll number even
if the next lower number had shipped the day before and had less experience. His
chances for advancement depended upon his greater experience being brought to
the attention of the captain.

Economic Matters: Pay

The sailor's pay rate depended upon his relative rank. A sailor's pay account
reflected his rating, location, and the vessels he had served on since his
induction. His pay record consisted of enlistment papers (shipping articles),
advancements in grade, previous payments (including clothing and provisions),
commutation of the spirit ration, and any pay advances. This pay record,
endorsed by the sailor and the paymaster, followed the seaman wherever he went,
except on short trips to the naval hospital. The Confederate Congress determined
the rate of pay for each enlisted grade in 1862. The three basic enlisted rates
(seaman, ordinary seaman, and landsman) earned twenty-two dollars, eighteen
dollars, and sixteen dollars per month, respectively. Sailors could have
allotments sent home but had to retain six dollars for themselves. They used
this money to repay the government for anything due for clothing, pay advances,
or small stores the sailor purchased. A sailor could supplement his pay by
commuting any unused spirit ration at the paltry rate of three cents per day.

In 1864, the Navy Department raised the commutation rate to twenty-two cents
but it was too late. To make matters worse, as a preventative measure against
desertion, the commander of a squadron or the ship's captain could order up to
three months pay withheld. It became so bad that in 1864, the Navy Department
warned officers not to let the men sell their clothing. To alleviate price
gouging, the Confederate Congress enacted a law restricting the amount that
could be charged for clothing. The measures taken by the Congress did not help
and, to supplement their income, sailors often sold parts of their clothing to
civilians. Watson wrote in his diary that I went to town and sold 15 undershirts
and drawers for $180.00 and bought 100 lbs. corn meal at $1.00 per lb and 1 lb
soda for 15.00. There are 15 men in our mess and each man put in a garment, for
we are short of breadstuff.

Pay for Confederate sailors was infrequent and usually inadequate. Families
of seamen often had insufficient funds and faced much hardship. When a crew did
get paid it was usually a very small amount, usually ten percent of the total
due. Seamen who needed money for their families had to depend on Richmond for
their allotments, and Richmond seldom paid. The paymaster, usually Seymour or
Keim, would issue pay to the enlisted men on board each vessel. Watson recorded
on 10 May 1864 that "The crew was paid off during the day but I got no money and
don't expect to get any for the next six months for it takes nearly all my wages
to pay for my soap and tobacco . . . Some of the men have been on board over a
year and this is the first time they have drawn any money and none of them drew
over $30.00. Some did not draw a cent."

When a sailor died in service, his possessions remained the property of the
navy until the paymaster received approval from the Treasury Department to
release them to his executor or representative. If he were in debt to the
government his clothing might be seized by the navy and sold at auction.
Otherwise the paymaster held the sailor's possessions until they could be
delivered to the deceased's agent. Under certain circumstances, the Navy
Department would bear the funeral expenses for those who fell in action or while
on duty. The navy also extended this honor to free blacks who served with the
Confederate Navy. Such was the case when Moses Dallas, a free black pilot with
the Savannah Squadron was killed in action while boarding the U. S. S.
Waterwitch. The Navy Department paid the entire expense for his funeral.
An interesting aside about Moses Dallas is that his funeral may have been
premature. Moses Dallas initially entered the U.S. Navy as a pilot in 1863 and
deserted to the Confederate Navy on 31 May 1863. Commander William A. Webb rated
him as a pilot and set his pay at $100 per month because he was the "best inland
pilot on the coast." Clarence L. Mohr cites Dallas as appearing on the muster
rolls of the 128th U. S. Colored Infantry three months after the Water
Witch incident. Dallas was from Duval County, Florida and the Dallas who
enlisted in the U.S. Army returned to Jacksonville after the war. It is possible
there were two men named Moses Dallas, but it is unlikely that they hailed from
the same place. It is also interesting that the receipt for his funeral expenses
includes a coffin. It is strange that, if they were unable to recover Dallas's
body after the fight, the Navy Department would bury an empty coffin. Someone
was in the coffin, and the C.S. Navy thought it was Moses Dallas.

Provisions And Stores

The primary responsibility of the paymaster was to issue food and small
stores (jackknives, needles, tobacco, mustard, and other items) to each sailor.
The Confederate Congress ordered that all laws enacted under United States
jurisdiction and not inconsistent with the Confederacy would remain in effect.
By this act the Confederate Congress adopted the Naval Provision Act of 1842.
The law established the quantity and type of food for issue, but it did not
specify the quality of that food.

The Office of Provisions and Clothing placed dietary emphasis on salt pork,
salt beef, fresh pork, fresh beef, bacon, rice, and dried peas or beans. Local
paymasters furnished fresh fruit and vegetables to vessels when they were
available. Watson wrote that his first receipt of fresh food was on 10 May 1864,
two months after reporting on board. In Savannah the diet revolved around fresh
bread and rice. When corn meal and flour became scarce in 1864, rice became the
main substitute. Many items on the rations list (cheese, butter, and raisins)
were obtainable only in small quantities and at exorbitant prices. Tea and
coffee, easily obtainable early in the war, later became scarce and
prohibitively expensive. However scant the variety of food, the quantity was
never in question. When one of his friends deserted Watson wrote that "I. . . am
greatly surprised at his desertion from the navy where he had plenty to eat and
little to do." The squadron was issued salt beef, salt pork, or bacon at least
four days a week.

Home squadrons could expect fresh meat and vegetables at least three days a
week and fresh bread was delivered weekly. Existing records indicate that from
October 1861, to November 1864, naval agents delivered 191,670 pounds of meat of
all types to the vessels of the Savannah Squadron. Fresh beef made up
eighty-seven percent of the meat issued; salt beef (6%); salt pork (3%); and
fresh pork and bacon (2%); however, the exact amount of meat issued is difficult
to ascertain because of the scarcity of accurate records. The weight of fresh
vegetables was never recorded so quantification is not possible.

Fresh beef, rice, and bread were the main staples of the common sailor in
Savannah. In 1863, the bureau ordered paymaster W. W. J. Kelly to set up a meat
packing plant in Albany, Georgia for processing pork for the Savannah Squadron.
The navy was eating so well that in April 1864, De Bree requested, in the
interest of inter-service harmony, to have a review board appointed to examine
the navy ration and reduce it. Instead, in the summer of 1864, the Army
Commissary Department received the responsibility for furnishing rations to the
navy. Still, as late as October 1864, the navy had six to eight months supply of
bread on hand and loaned the army 620 barrels of flour. By December 1864, the
navy had set up a flour, grist mill and bakery in Albany, Georgia that supplied
the forces in Savannah, Charleston, and Columbus.

The most controversial issue was the spirit ration. The naval custom of
issuing a spirit ration was upheld by the surgeons of the navy and the
regulations. Surgeons thought it should be served as a stimulant with breakfast.
Most officers; however, opposed the issue on disciplinary grounds. De Bree
opposed the spirit ration on the basis of cost alone. Nevertheless, the navy set
up a distillery in Augusta, Georgia solely for production of spirits (corn
liquor) and naval agents continued purchasing much needed grain and corn.

The "pay department's" responsibilities included pay, procuring provisions
and issuing clothing. Under the direction of John De Bree and James A. Semple
the Office of Provisions and Clothing, failed in issuing pay, but was able to
provide ample food and adequate clothing for each enlisted man in the navy. The
Confederate sailor had a difficult job to do. Not only had he to contend with no
pay and long, tedious days but he also had to combat disease and invasion.

About the Author

John Kennington is
a graduate
of East Carolina University with a Master of Arts Degree in Maritime History and
Marine Archaeology. John has been researching the Confederate Navy for 14 years
and will have his new book "Gray Jackets In Savannah" published within the next
year by White Mane Publishing. John is the commanding officer of the James River
Squadron, and a member of the Savannah River Squadron. He was one of the
founding members of both groups. He has lectured to Civil War Round Tables, SCV,
and UDC groups throughout the southeast about the roles of the U.S. and
Confederate Navies. John is a Board of Directors member of NMLHA.